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Phoenix Police receive federal funding for on-officer cameras


The Phoenix Police Department will soon be installing cameras on its police officers after it was granted $500,000 from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Phoenix community members proposed the on-officer cameras to improve accountability and transparency, Police Sgt. Steve Martos said.

“From an internal standpoint obviously we’ll have more evidence from some of our scenes,” Martos said. “The other flip side of it is when (people) talk about transparency (that) is when people start to question what an officer did at a certain time, certain event or incident.”

Martos said 50 Maryvale precinct officers will use the cameras.

A decision on what type of cameras will be used has not been made yet as police are still researching the equipment.

The ASU School of Criminology and Criminal Justice was selected by the police to conduct project research to measure improved accuracy and increase in conviction rates within the justice system.

Charles Katz of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice said the project will not start until early 2012 and the cameras will most likely be chest mounted.

“They would have an opportunity to use that information to demonstrate to the courts or the jury … about the behavior of an individual to increase prosecution rates,” Katz said.

The cameras will be worn during all police activity and will compare officers’ progress to those without camera use, Katz said.

“Sometimes it’s just the difference between what the officer said and what suspect said so the cameras will help police officers provide hard evidence on the situation,” Katz said.

The Phoenix Police Community Engagement and Outreach Task Force, formed in early 2010, collaborated with Phoenix community members through public hearings to ask for recommendations on improving police activity.

According to the task force’s website, the task force presented categories of improvement to community members: building better relationships with officers, community engagement by the police department and its officers, improving officer training and improving processes for accountability.

This is the first time Arizona officers will use this technology in addition to cameras installed on some police squad cars, which only records from the angle of the vehicle, Katz said.

Justin Ready of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice said was enthusiastic in working on this groundbreaking venture.

“We’re excited about the potential for this technology to be beneficial to both the police and the communities in Phoenix,” Ready said.

Reach the reporter at sraymund@asu.edu

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